When Bologna announced the arrival of Riccardo Calafiori from FC Basel late last August, just a couple of hours before the end of the summer market window, very few guessed how successful a move it would be.
Following the arrival of Jose Mourinho at Roma in 2021, Calafiori's home city and the club where he grew up, opportunities and playing time were rare for the defender.
That encouraged him to accept a permanent transfer to Swiss giants Basel in the summer of 2022.
Despite being a regular presence in Italy youth teams, Calafiori was beginning to slide off the European football radar before Bologna technical director Giovanni Sartori made his move.